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Introduction
 Krabi
is a southern province on Thailand's Andaman seaboard
with perhaps the country's oldest history of continued
settlement. After dating stone tools, ancient
coloured pictures, beads, pottery and skeletal
remains found in the province's many cliffs and
caves, it is thought that Krabi has been home
to homo sapiens since the period 25,000 - 35,000
B.C. In recorded times it was called the 'Ban
Thai Samor', and was one of twelve towns that
used, before people were widely literate, the
monkey for their standard. At that time, c. 1200
A.D., Krabi was tributary to the Kingdom of Ligor,
a city on the Kra Peninsula's east coast better
known today as Nakhon Si Thammarat.
At the start of the Rattanakosin period, about
200 years ago, when the capital was finally settled
at Bangkok, an elephant kraal was established
in Krabi by order of Chao Phraya Nakorn (Noi),
the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat, which was
by then a part of the Thai Kingdom. He sent his
vizier, the Phra Palad, to oversee this task,
which was to ensure a regular supply of elephants
for the larger town. So followers many emigrated
in the steps of the Phra Palad that soon Krabi
had a large community in three different boroughs
: Pakasai, Khlong Pon, and Pak Lao. In 1872, King
Chulalongkorn graciously elevated these to town
status, called Krabi, a word that preserves in
its meaning the monkey symbolism of the old standard.
The town's first governor was Luang Thep Sena,
though it continued a while as a dependency of
Nakhon Si Thammarat. This was changed in 1875,
when Krabi was raised to a fourth-level town in
the old system of Thai government. Administrators
then reported directly to the central government
in Bangkok, and Krabi's history as a unique entity
separated from the other provinces, had begun.
During the present reign, the corps of civil servants,
the merchants, and the population generally of
Krabi and nearby provinces have together organized
construction of a royal residence at Laem Hang
Nak Cape for presentation to His Majesty the King.
This lies thirty kilometers to the west of Krabi
Town on the Andaman coast.
Administration
Krabi is divided into eight districts : Amphoe
Muang (Krabi Town), Khao Panom, Khlong Thom, Plai
Phraya, Ko Lanta, Ao Luk, and Lam Thap and, Nhua
Khlong.
Size, Location and Boundaries
Krabi is on the Andaman Sea coast of south-west
Thailand, between 7' 30" and 8' 30"
north latitude, and 98' 30" and 99' 30"
west longitude. Total area is 4,709 square kilometers
bounded thus :
| North |
Connects with Phang-nga and Sura Thani
Provinces. |
| South |
Connects with Trang Provinces and the
Andaman Sea. |
| East |
Connects with Trang and Nakhon Si Thammarat
Provinces. |
| West |
Connects with Phang-nga Provinces and
the Andaman Sea. |
| From Krabi city to nearby provinces
- Phang Nga 86 kms.
- Phuket 176 kms.
- Trang 131 kms.
- Phattalung 193 kms.
- Surat Thani 211 kms.
- Nakhon Si Thammarat 233 kms.
- Satun 276 kms. |
From Krabi city to its districts
- Ao Luk 43 kms.
- Plai Phraya 66 kms.
- Khao Panom 39 kms.
- Khlong Thom 42 kms.
- Ko Lanta 103 45 kms.
- Lam Thap 67 kms.
- Nua Khlong 17 kms. |
Population
Krabi's estimated population, as of September
1999, is 344,610
Geography
Krabi's mountainous physical geography is broken
by highlands and plains on the mainland.The provincial
administration also covers more than 130 islands
in the Andaman Sea. Natural forest cover is chiefly
mangrove and Cassia trees. Krabi's sandy clay
soil conditions are perfect for a variety of agricultural
products, including rubber trees, palms, mangos,
coconuts, and coffee. The Krabi River flows 5
kilometers through the city and falls into the
Andaman at Tambon Pak Nam. There are other streams
as well : the Khlong Pakasai, the Khlong Krabi
Yai and the Khlong Krabi Noi in the province's
highest range of mountains, the Khao Phanom Bencha.
Climate
Weather in Krabi is typically that of the tropical
monsoon, providing the province with just two
seasons, the hot season from January to April,
and the rainy season from May to December. Monsoon
winds, which change according to season, blow
from the southeast, the southwest, and the northeast.
Temperatures range between 16.9 and 37.3 degrees
Celsius and the yearly rainfall averages 2,568.5
millimeters. |
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Krabi
